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10/29/2007
Rich offers Poor excuse for apology
Remember on Friday when we showed you some ridiculous gay marriage/ incest-linking comments that had been made by country music star John Rich? Well, as is usually the case when celebrities realize that this Internet age makes their every backwards thought open to public scrutiny, Mr. Rich (or at least his staff) has offered up a back-pedaling statement to try and defuse the situation. Oh, and it's annoyingly short-sighted:
"My earlier comments on same-sex marriage don't reflect my full views on the broader issues regarding tolerance and the treatment of gays and lesbians in our society,"... "I apologize for that and wish to state clearly my views.
"I oppose same-sex marriage because my father and minister brought me up to believe that marriage is an institution for the union of a man and a woman. However, I also believe that intolerance, bigotry and hatred are wrong. People should be judged based on their merits, not on their sexual orientation. We are all children of God and should be valued and respected."
Ah yes. Because if there's one thing we have learned about human beings, it's that their true thoughts don't come out via off-the-cuff interviews on a radio show (where Rich's initial comments were made), but rather they come from the damage control statements that are crafted by a PR person. All that stuff he said about gay marriage being unnatural, unsavory, and similar to aunt/nephew f***ing -- clearly he just misspoke! He meant to speak in more gay-friendly tones, it's just that his brain and actual thoughts got in the way of his spokesperson!
::Writer rolls eyes so pointedly and dramatically, he doesn't need a professional public relations person to help him convey that he meant for the above to be taken sarcastically::
Mr. Rich: We're all about redemption and forgiveness here at G-A-Y. But if you're going to make amends for comparing our love to that of a woman schtupping her sister's child, then you're going to have to do more than give lip service to the idea of "tolerance" via a press release! Step 1: Personally make the comments in a format other than a prepared statement. Step 2: Actually address the shitty things you said. Step 3: Vow to combat rather than foster bigotry amongst your fans and industry. Anything less is simply you trying to protect your career, not the well-being of gay and lesbian people.
Your thoughts
What? Don't we all want our bigotry and intolerance, too?
Posted by: Howard | Oct 29, 2007 4:04:01 PM
Eat my rocky mountain oysters Rich.
Posted by: Franc | Oct 29, 2007 7:23:12 PM
It's so unfortunate when stars make comments like this.
Don't they realize how much their words can hurt us and our families? To counteract negative messages like this, it's really important for us to speak frankly with the people in our lives about the importance of the freedom to marry.
I've been finding a lot of useful resources at LetCaliforniaRing.org. It's a public education campaign all about opening hearts and minds. If we can push public opinion over the "tipping point," I have a feeling that public figures like John Rich will think twice before saying such things.
Posted by: George | Oct 29, 2007 8:35:21 PM
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